Len J. wrote -

(snip)
<<< It was blinking but still
had not removed its' head from under its' wing. I took more pictures
and then picked up a stick about 2 feet long and proceeded to stroke
its' head which it finally took out from under its' wing. Thinking it
was sick or was sitting on a nest I carefully reached under it to see
if there were any eggs. Only then did it break and rush to the water.
It immediately started swimming away with its' head dipping into the
water looking for breakfast. It appeared perfectly normal except for
its' odd behavior on land. Has anyone else experienced this tameness in
a loon?>>>

I think any creature woken from a dead sleep would be startled, Len. I
believe what you thought was the loon blinking could have instead been
the involuntary movement of its nictating membrane. Just one point:
messing around with a loon at close quarters is not for the
faint-hearted. That bill is sharp and quite able to take out an eye or
puncture a hand (personal experience with the latter). I realize that
you were concerned for the bird's health, but the prudent course of
action in your encounter would have been to leave the bird alone and
watch it from a distance.

As for tameness, I have had the pleasure of quietly sitting on a
floating dock and have a pair of loons glide right by me with apparent
unconcern. Typecasting this as tameness in a bird of wild lakes seems
misplaced.

-------
Jack Bowling
Prince George, BC
jbowling at direct.ca